City Council candidate Marni von Wilpert on the future of policing in San Diego

Early in my legal career, I was a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi. In rural courtrooms tucked away on back roads in the Deep South, I worked with people to overcome discrimination on many levels: race, LGBTQ identity, HIV-positive status.

Reminders of racism’s pervasive persistence were everywhere — Confederate statues, de facto segregation, hate crimes. But it was the insidious, institutional racism that left the biggest impression on me.

I remember a White judge confiding how difficult things got when “the Blacks” were in her courtroom. I remember the skepticism of so many in pursuing justice — there’s “no point” they said, over and over. I remember my HIV-positive clients — poor, mostly Black and without health care — who died before their cases of wrongful termination could be heard.

The reality of racism, I learned firsthand, is not just brutal violence under the color of law like the kind that killed George Floyd in broad daylight. It’s also the quiet denial of justice, opportunity and dignity for so many in so many ways.

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Now, America is confronting that reality in a national conversation about systemic racism that’s long overdue. And we all have a responsibility to turn this pain into meaningful change in our community — not only to reform policing practices, but to root out injustice everywhere we can.

In San Diego, long-awaited police reforms are finally becoming reality, including banning chokeholds, independent oversight and new San Diego Police Department de-escalation policies. A robust reform agenda should also include more transparent reporting of use of force, early warning programs to identify troubled cops and new hiring practices to recruit more diverse officers from the communities in which they serve.

Immediate reforms for accountability, transparency and diversity are critical to restoring communities’ trust in police and ensuring every San Diegan is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. It’s the essential first step, but it can’t be the last.

Some have suggested “defunding police.” But in my community, what I’ve heard is a desire to consider public safety holistically so our first responders are the right responders in situations that are more about personal crisis than crime.

Cost is always a consideration, but it just seems like common sense for social workers and nonprofits to lead homelessness outreach and the response to mental health calls, engaging law enforcement when needed. And I know San Diegans want to keep police ready to respond to the 17,000 domestic violence emergencies, 9,000 elder abuse cases, and nearly 1,000 rapes reported in our region every year.

Budget decisions should reinforce reform. I’m heartened that SDPD is developing new de-escalation policies and a renewed commitment to community-based policing. But none of that will be effective without ongoing training for our officers and keeping their compensation competitive. Everyone in business knows you get what you pay for. Public safety is no different.

Still, this moment demands more. I strongly support the creation of San Diego’s first-ever Office of Race and Equity, proposed by Councilwoman Monica Montgomery. The criminal justice system isn’t the only institution where people of color are often treated differently than White people. And this office’s long-term mission should be eradicating inequality everywhere possible, both through rooting out institutional biases and restoring opportunity in communities that have been left behind.

And that’s what feels different this time around. There’s been a recent embrace of reform, the removal of symbols of hate and, more than anything, an acknowledgment that addressing the legacy of racism goes beyond simply reforming police practices.

That is how we will make San Diego safer for everyone and rebuild trust in all the good police officers serving our communities. That is how we can ensure a police budget that reflects our community’s values and addresses public safety comprehensively.

We need to keep having these tough conversations openly, publicly, loudly. Because reforming police practices is just a start — meeting this moment means working to end the quiet denial of justice in all its forms.

Von Wilpert is a candidate for San Diego City Council District 5, which includes Black Mountain Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, San Pasqual, Torrey Highlands and other communities.